


indefinite article

by papyrocrat



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-15
Updated: 2012-01-15
Packaged: 2017-11-17 13:25:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/552035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papyrocrat/pseuds/papyrocrat





	indefinite article

"So what _is_ a doppelganger?" Elena asks as if it's just occurred to her, as if she's back down here with three bags of blood and a fifth of Jack because it's a rerun night and she's bored, and not because she's on some desperate existential quest for answers or meaning or _something_ pathetically intangible.

Katherine slumps against the wall and flaunts her pounding need. "A doppelganger is a mystical phenomenon that can't give decent metaphysics lessons when it's this _thirsty._ "

Elena rolls her eyes. Katherine smirks as best as her searing hunger will let her; she _invented_ that passive-aggressive mean girl face. Elena doesn't get lazy and hand over the bag like Katherine had let herself hope, though, just squirts some blood into a Dixie cup. Fucking Girl Scout, always prepared. "Tell me what you know, and I'll spice up the next one."

"Ooooh, tough. I'm impressed." She snatches up the cup and drinks greedily.

"Clearly you're not, or you'd be talking." Elena opens the bottle and takes a sip herself.

Katherine settles in. "As far as we know-"

"Seriously?"

"I have no reason to evade. It's your funeral, honey, mine was centuries ago." Elena arches their eyebrows and swings the blood bag in front of her eyes. "Well, if I even had a funeral. Fallen harlot, no body, demonic abomination, blah blah blah."

"Bothers you, doesn't it?"

"Not really. I can have my virtues extolled any time I like."

"Not stuck in there, you can't." Touche. "Anyway, the doppelganger."

God, she's starving. "As I was _saying._ I don't really know the particulars. But Elijah seemed to think the original doppelganger was created as a balancing agent to keep the Sun and Moon curse in check."

"I thought the curse itself was a check."

"Sort of. Vampires and werewolves are forces in opposition each other. They're natural enemies. Witches are supposed to be referees. We're like the red flags they use to call a foul. Not very scary on our own, but we tend to get everyone's attention."

"Sports metaphor?"

"Well, I've eaten a couple of rugby players. Tough to dig into, but delectable once you break the skin. Which, speaking of."

Elena obliges.

"So, if you're going to be something powerful enough to keep the natural world in balance, you can't be able to use that power. That's why the magic is in our blood, and not conscious force of will like a witch's magic. That's why you can be compelled or killed, even if you're not human." Elena flinches. "Surely you knew that much, at least."

She clearly had, but hadn't wanted to hear it. She makes a little cocktail to cover her disappointment. Katherine lets the silence settles around them until Elena speaks. "So if you didn't start out human, but you're still undead like a human would be now. Then what are you?"

Katherine smiles, flirtatious and smug. "I'm something the world has never seen before." 


End file.
